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Which oils are healthy?

There are dozens of oils on the shelves….which ones should you buy? There is so much confusion out there as to what’s healthy. One source says extra virgin olive oil is good and another source says coconut oil is good. Well, here’s the low down. Vegetable oils are generally NOT healthy. This includes canola, soybean, corn, cottonseed etc.

These oils are loaded with GMOs. This means that they are toxic to the human body.

They are heavily processed.

And to add insult to injury, these oils are sold in large clear plastic jugs. Really?? Plastic is just bad news.

They are full of trans fat. But wait! The bottle says “zero trans fat”. Technically that’s true because the polymers of these oils do not contain trans fat INITIALLY. But these oils are highly sensitive to exposure to oxygen, heat and sunlight because of their biochemical structure. This sets up a chain reaction of oxidative damage from the minute of extraction to the bottling of these oils. The horrifying truth is that these oils are rancid before they even get to the shelf at your grocery store. Rancid oil equals trans fat.

And that’s isn’t where the story ends. The biochemical nature of these oils is such that they are very high in polyunsaturated, omega 6 fatty acids which are pro-inflammatory. This leads to harmful cell reactions in our body that set up a myriad of inflammatory conditions such as heart disease, arthritis, etc.

Please avoid these oils at all costs. So what should we use?

There are a number of healthy oils available:

Organic, unrefined, extra virgin coconut oil

Coconut oil is about 90% saturated fat which makes it highly heat stable and extremely resistant to oxidative damage. But isn’t saturated fat bad for you? Doesn’t it cause heart attacks? These myths were debunked by many studies showing no link between unrefined coconut oil and heart disease. In fact, most of the studies showed that it is the use of refined and hydrogenated oils that cause disease.

Coconut oil is composed largely of Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT). That is good news. These fatty acids go straight to the liver and are used as an immediate source of energy. This means that coconut oil does not get stored in your body!

Coconut oil is also very high in lauric acid. Lauric acid is known to be anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. This is where coconut oil gets these attributes from.

Organic, extra virgin olive oil

Extra virgin olive oil consists mainly of monosaturated fat (MUFA). It is high in antioxidants. It contains oleic acid and oleocanthal, which are anti-inflammatory. This is an ideal oil for use in salad dressings and light sauteeing. It is important not to heat olive oil as it can become rancid (trans fat). And make sure your organic, extra virgin olive oil is stored in a dark glass bottle to ensure minimal oxidation from oxygen, heat and sunlight.

Avocado oil

Avocado oil is high in monounsaturated fat which is heart healthy. It is high in Vitamin E. It is a mild tasting oil that is great to cook with because it is resistant to heat and oxidative stress. It is also a good oil used to make homemade mayo. Again make sure your avocado oil is stored in a dark glass bottle to minimize oxidation.